Medical Group Management Association

Halee Fischer-Wright is a nationally respected healthcare executive and physician leader whose work focuses on medical management innovation and creating cultures of excellence. She has served as a Physician Practice President, hospital system CMO and now is the President and CEO of the MGMA.

In our conversation, we discussed the challenges of running a medical practice including dealing with changes in technology, stress, and the time physicians spend on administration. The MGMA’s mission is providing the training, resources, and community to support healthcare practices. At their annual meeting, Oct 31- Nov 2 the MGMA celebrates their 90th Anniversary.

Listen to our conversation or jump in at the time stamps below.

[00:00] Introduction
00:45 Meet Halee Fischer-Wright, MD
83% of Physicians would not choose to go into medicine[03:05] Solo Vs Multi-Specialty[04:25] Is an MBA needed to run a better practice?[07:10] How much of a physician’s time is spent on administration?[08:30] How much of the administrative role can be delegated?[09:40] Checklists getting in the way?[12:25] Should EHR companies have physicians/nurses on staff?[13:25] Halee Fischer-Wright’s story[16:10] Experience on both sides of the fence[16:50] Tell me about the members of the MGMA[17:38] National and state MGMA Associations[18:15] What are the big issues facing MGMA members[19:12] MGMA is about the business of medicine[21:03] Are annual meeting sessions different depending on practice size[22:08] What is the MGMA doing with social media?[23:40] State MGMA Boards are a not keeping up with social media[25:55] Patients crowdsourcing physician choice[26:45] You can’t turn the clock back[27:31] Does the MGMA have a social media policy for members?[29:02] Hospital employees posting racist comments[32:10] Ignorance is not an excuse[32:25] Thought leaders can be found anywhere[34:14] What’s coming up for the MGMA in 2017?
35:10 A look at the 2016 MGMA Annual Meeting.[35:35] Why did you pick Jim Gaffigan as a speaker?[37:15] Is there a certificate program to be a practice Manager?[38:25] What would you say to people who are not members of the MGMA?
39:00 Social Media Tip: Shahid Shah: Ask the deeper question
40:35 Social Content Solutions

John Lynn, aka @TechGuy, is well known in the healthcare IT world. He has developed a series of websites to support the industry. His website Healthcare Scene hosts 10 healthcare blogs that have generated over 11,000 blog posts, half of which John wrote himself! He’s the co-founder of #HITMC Conference, supports numerous Twitter handles and provides a valuable resource for job seekers in the industry.

Listen to our conversation or drop in at the time stamps below:

[00:00] Introduction[00:50] #HIT100[01:15] Healthcare – people with personal passions[02:38] What is your “Why”?[03:40] Difference between professional and passion-driven participants[05:17] Disconnect in C-Suite not being exposed to social media discussions?[06:48] Social determinants of health[07:27] Patient stories – not hearing enough “good” stories[10:47] Empowered patients[13:41] People want to do good. Problems are a result of faulty workflow or process[16:18] The power of social media[17:10] Entrepreneurial spirit is suppressed in healthcare[18:56] Acquired EHRs, now we need healthcare analysts[20:22] John’s digital properties: Healthcare Scene, Healthcare IT Jobs, #HITMC[23:47] Open Sharing among healthcare marketers[26:29] HITMC Conference – Marketing automation hot topic[28:21] Networking is a valuable aspect of HITMC[29:15] Call for speakers for Spring HITMC Conference[31:24] Topic suggestions: Success/Failure stories and Creative or Innovative Problem Solving[31:04] Hamilton Rap from Stacey Gobel of Studio 9[32:07] Where will the conference be held? SLS Las Vegas[35:30] Find #HITMC – LinkedIn Group, Website, TwitterChat[36:40] “Local” meetups around the country
38:03 Social Media Tip: Stacy Goebel with Studio North “Try Live Video”

Physician, Innovator, and Entrepreneur

Meet Dr. Tom Giannulli; Chief Medical Officer for Kareo and independent practice innovator. As both a physician and an entrepreneur, Dr. Giannulli is something of a modern-day Edison – creating, developing and testing digital health innovations in his own healthcare practice. As an independent practitioner, he offers a unique perspective and the capability to de real-time testing of the innovative ideas at Kareo.

During our interview, we talked about innovation, the needs of the small healthcare practice and, of course, social media. Listen to our conversation or drop in at the time stamps below:

Podcast Time Stamps:

[00:00] Introduction[00:55] Meet Dr. Tom Giannaulli, CMIO, Kareo[01:25] Kareo’s use of social media[01:55] Leadership team at Kareo is active in social media[02:21] Was social media part of your pre-Kareo career?[02:41] How did you manage to be a physician and an entrepreneur?[03:40] Technology an interest early on[04:22] Do your kids love technology?[04:48] Kareo’s history[05:50] What’s the difference between the marketing platform and Doctor Base?[07:05] Difference between patient portal and physician review site[08:10] Where are you allowed to post content?[08:32] Tracking review sites – as many as 60-80[09:22] Review sites – Are all reviews published?[10:43] Need more review to balance all opinions[11:30] It’s like trying to get podcast reviews! (Shameless plug – Review here!)[12:16] What is a “small” or independent practice?[12:54] How are your services offered?[13:25] How labor intensive is the ongoing training and support for an independent practice?[14:25] Are your new clients new to EHR or are they transferring from another platform[14:42] How do you manage to be the CMIO for Kareo and a practicing physician?[15:57] Is Kareo a virtual company?[16:17] Who wins the arguments – the Physician or the Entrepreneur?[17:35] Physician’s time spent with EHR – is it better than the “good old days”?[19:35] Heads Up Medicine – Training to use tablet and remain engaged with patient[21:00] Gesture-based software[21:56] Digital Health & Snake Oil[24:05] Vetting medial apps[24:44] How does the Kareo platform help the small healthcare practice do marketing[26:00] Claim your space – how does the Kareo platform update online information?[27:03] What are you developing now?[27:40] KareoChat – Who’s participating?[28:15] Crafting blog posts and subject matter expert to lead[29:28] Why is social media important to an independent practice?
31:41 Social Media Tip: Hannah Prince. “Use interactive content”

More Information:

Storify of April 28th TweetChat led by Janet Kennedy of Get Social Health (that’s me!)